How Do I Know God’s Will?

God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. (Saint John Henry Newman)

If you?re like me, you?ve probably prayed the Lord?s Prayer thousands of times. You have spoken the words ?Thy will be done? at least that many times. But even though we express that sentiment, do we really mean it? And if we mean it, how do we know what God wants us to do?

For many of us, trying to figure out what God wants us to do can be very intimidating. If you feel that way, relax! The Lord doesn?t want us to be in the dark. If He wants us to do something, He will let us know. Unfortunately, we often fail to listen, don?t know how to listen, or can?t believe what He is asking us to do.?Although it may take time, determining what God wants us to do isn?t impossible or even extremely difficult. It simply takes a combination of common sense, willingness to seek Him out, and desire to listen to what He is saying.

If the Lord wants you to do something, He will let you know. Let?s look at some ways to hear His voice more clearly and put His plan for your life into action:

1.?Resolve to do what God wants even if it’s not what you want. Tell Him that you earnestly want to do His will more than anything else. Often overlooked, this step is very important and sets the stage for the remaining steps.

2. Ask God what He wants you to do. Here’s another step that is simple, but important. Furthermore, expect God to answer when you ask.

3. Listen for His answer. It can come in many ways – through Church teachings, the Bible, prayer, thoughts, circumstances or other people. It’s not impossible, but it is very rare that the Lord will speak audibly to you. That’s why it’s so important to learn to “hear” His voice. The most important thing to remember here is to be patient. Don’t force God’s hand. If He’s not giving you the next step, be patient. He will let you know when it’s time to act.

4. Decide what you should do. At some point, you’ll need to reach a decision. Once you reach an initial decision (it doesn’t have to be final), run it by the Lord and see if it brings you peace. Once again, don’t rush unless it’s necessary. If you are at peace, it’s time to move to the next step.

5. Act on your decision. This is often the most difficult step of the entire process. Once you have a reasonable idea of what God wants you to do, try it out and see what happens. After discerning that Jesus was really calling Him to walk on the water, Peter eventually had to get out of the boat. Don’t let fear stop you. Even if you make the “wrong” decision, the Lord can still bring good out of it. Trust Him!

Want to learn more about discovering God’s will for your life? Check out my book – Faith, Hope and Clarity (How To Know God’s Will)!